UUIDs are recognizable, have a version field, can be sorted in the case of UUIDv7, a standardized format means easy interoperability (eg, encoding, validation, serialization etc), and databases can optimize storage and efficiency when using a native UUID type.

If just using random bytes, you still need to make decisions about how to serialize, put it in a URL, logging etc so you’re basically just inventing you’re own format anyway for a problem that’s already solved.

I treat UUIDv4s as 128 random bits and it triggers ppl.

they should be prefixed with something human readable so you can tell a service bot api key from a human developer api key or whatever.

I hate UUIDv4, don't care about the rest. UUIDv4 is just random bytes with hyphens inserted in random places and some bytes reserved to indicate that this is in fact a UUID. This is wasteful and stupid

UUIDs aren't random by design, and the structure is not pointless. Calling something you don't understand "stupid" is probably not a good approach to life.

One example where UUIDs are useful is usage as primary keys in databases. The constraints provide benefits, such as global uniqueness across distributed systems.